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Tuesday, June 29, 2010

This was the dessert I made last year for a progressive dinner we had on the 4th with our neighbors. (I got the idea from the Barefoot Contessa).

It was super easy. I made stripes with raspberries and frosting (using a frosting bag thing)and for stars used blueberries with dabs of frosting on top of them. It was so much fun making it and my oldest son was able to help. The cake mix I used was red velvet with a cream cheese frosting, so yummy! This year I think I will try a blueberry pie!

I hope this inspires you this weekend...Have a wonderful and safe 4th!!!

Monday, June 21, 2010

Well last week I finally dove into it's makeover process and you wouldn't believe what I found! I planned on repainting the entire piece in a custom color and then finish it off with some light distressing. I decided to sand a few areas just to see what I was working with and if I would be ok with just a light sand and priming to save time... I'm impatient. I began to use my electric sander on top and as it finally got through all the coats of paint on it, it began to show some dark brown color. As I looked closer I noticed it was not wood underneath all this paint but instead was a leather top table someone had painted over!

I debated what to do. I really wanted to restore the leather top but knew it would take a lot of work to take all of the paint off the leather without damaging it, and who knows why it was painted in the first place, maybe it was in such bad condition that painting was the best option. My mom suggested nail polish remover so I began and it was taking forever! I then decided I would run out to the hardware store and see if by chance I could find some paint stripper that just might work on leather (as there was lightening and thunder and pouring down rain!... I told you I was impatient).

By luck I found some paint stripper that said it could be used on leather so back home I went to check it out. It worked perfectly and in just about 30-40 minutes the top was paint free and I could finally examine the leather's condition.

There wre a few scratches and color inconsistencies but overall it wasn't too bad. My mom suggested using shoe polish to see if it would help with the color and overall clean up of the leather.

It definitely helped I think but it still had a worn look to it which I decided added character to the piece.

I immediately thought of Heather Chadduck's living room with the worn leather chairs that she kept worn and tattered...

I figured if Heather can do it, so can I!

I mixed a few colors I had already to come up with a grey green color which I love! I think it goes great with the color of the leather and with the new hardware knobs I purchased...

Here are some detail shots...

The hardware was labled for closet doors. It's big and chunky!

You can see some of the etching detail the top had...

I absolutely love this piece even more now and am so excited to have found a hidden diamond in the rough!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Ok so I love Sarah's House on HGTV and her Farmhouse is by far my favorite so far! I think it is my dream home!!! During one of the shows they mentioned a basement but never aired an episode covering the basement. Today as I was looking at the pictures online, I came across a picture of the finished basement... I'm now fully convinced this is definitely my dream home!Go here to see it... I couldn't figure out how to copy and paste it since it is in adobe flash on the website.